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New Car shopping, the conclusion!!!
- Thread starter anubis
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Frisco said:
Really?
My '02 Jetta VR6 has never had a single problem. Ever.
And as for BMW, we've had three in the family, and none of them have ever had a problem either.
My 328i handled like a dream. I miss that car all the time.
I would go with either the BMW 330i with the manual box, or the Audi A4 S.
iGary said:Personally, I think you ought to put all that money into retirement.
I agree with iGary. With companies decreasing benefits and no longer offering pension plans I'd make sure your retirement plans are on track before splurging on a luxury vehicle. I know they say you only live once, but it would suck to have to live in a dump with loads of debt and no medical coverage at the end of that semi-charmed life. Get a home before a nice car (if you haven't already). At least you have a better chance of it appreciating in value.
In any case, maybe you already have all that in order. If so, then more power to ya.
I like the handling of the IS350 personally. We test drove it at a "Taste Of Lexus" event when it was still a prototype. Very nice....
I would get the BMW 330i, I have heard great reviews about that car and everyone I know who owns it loves it. I have an X5 right now and I haven't had one single problem with it...
Here's a question for the U.S. folk, how much does a E39 M5 run too? if that's in the same ballpark as a new Lexus/Infiniti thingy, I'd pony up the $$$ for one of those as it'll be worth more than either of them in 12 months I suspect... and it actually handles too. Just a thought.
iGav said:Here's a question for the U.S. folk, how much does a E39 M5 run too? if that's in the same ballpark as a new Lexus/Infiniti thingy, I'd pony up the $$$ for one of those as it'll be worth more than either of them in 12 months I suspect... and it actually handles too. Just a thought.
iGav hates him some Japanese cars.
I guess it's easier to justify the ES having FWD since you really don't expect performance. Just a fluffy riding Camry...yg17 said:
sushi said:
Agreed. It's so disheartening to try to trade in your vehicle after 3 years only to find that it's lost almost 75% of it's value.
I know not all cars are like that, but unless you have some sort of specialty car all tend to lose a significant amount of value the first three years. I don't know if I'll ever buy new ever again. I feel like I get much more bang for my buck with pre-owned.here's another way to go....
this might sound silly, but....
I forget the purpose of your car purchase.
We all know how much money you have to spend...but
Do you need 4 doors?
Do you want to drive something that not everyone and his mother are driving?
Do you really want to DRIVE, as in performance is the key here?
Are you a poser that wants everybody to look at you when you drive by?
Is the whole FWD/RWD/AWD/4WD that important, or does it again come down to handling?
I know that the original post stated the answers to some of these questions - but the post-test-drive posts seemed to be a little confused as to the primary function of this vehicle. So my suggestion (and I don't think I've seen it yet) is.....
buy two!
Do you love to drive? As in love to hit the onramp just right or find your favorite bit of twisty road or challenge yourself to see if you can go just a little bit faster? Well, the highway ain't the best place for any of that. The track is. So's the autocross course.
So ya got all this money to spend and your car's important? Buy yourself a Porsche, join the PCA, get out there with an instructor and learn to drive a fast car fast. Learn how to work on it a bit to save yourself some money - but more importantly, to have a respect for the car that you just can't get by dropping it off at the dealer and picking it up the next day. Learn to maintain your car, not wait 'til it breaks and repair it.
I've had three. My first, an '88 911 Carrera Targa, was my dream car of dream cars since I was a little kid. I bought it in '96 for about 25K. Drove it for 4 years and sold it for 22K - how's that for an investment? Did autocross, track, rally, concours, the whole shebang. Awesome experience. Somewhere along the way, I became worried about doing track events with it, so I bought a '73 914 for 2K with the idea of fixing it up for track and autocross. I was well on the way when I moved and lost the parking room for it, so I sold it for about 2K (putting about 3K of work into it along the way...). Different kind of fun than the 911. More fun in some ways, actually - the mid engine thing is just awesome on twisties. Then, I needed a little more creature comforts as my commute became longer, so I bought an '89 944 S2 with real live air conditioning! You drive to the track in total comfort, switch to your track tire/wheel combo, drive the heck out of it for a weekend, and then put the cruise control and AC and 6 disc changer on for the leisurely ride home. If you were brave enough to stand on the loud pedal in 2nd gear to redline, you either smiled or were dead - there just weren't any other options. The 944 Turbo is supposed to be twice the car as the S2. I can't imagine what that would be like.
So, you've got all this money. If you really, really want to learn about performance, then do it somewhere safe. (I'm sure other car clubs offer all the same stuff as the PCA - I only know of what I speak. Write. Whatever.) Buy a car to get you to work. Buy a car to indulge your driving fantasy. You'll spend the same money, but you'll be buying a hobby, too. Look around - again, I only know about P-cars - but you can find a Porsche for pretty much ANY amount of money.
Now, let's answer those questions with some cars:
4 doors? Hmm. A used Cayenne? Nah, here, you'd probably need to go BMW or Audi.
Unique? Take your pick. How 'bout a 928? A 968 cabriolet? A heavily modified 914 with a Corvette engine (not my cup of tea, but you can search Porschev and see some of the FrankenPorsches out there).
Performance drives? Any 911 Turbo - but you'd better get some lessons, first. A Boxster S - trust me, the car will be better than you are for quite some time.
Want people to look at you? Slant nose 911. Anything with that huge wing out back. A 914-6. A 356. A 356 speedster. A 911 speedster.
No Porsche has ever had FWD; lots have 4WD/AWD. In fact, my 944S2 with snow tires was a pretty darn good winter car - unless the snow got deeper than about 6 inches....in which case, it's time to call in one of your many SUV-drivin' buddies.....
So, anyway, if you want new, than you can ignore all of this. But if you're buying a great car for the sheer driving experience, well then...
there really is no substitute.
Go drive something great! Isn't that the whole point?
MFK
this might sound silly, but....
I forget the purpose of your car purchase.
We all know how much money you have to spend...but
Do you need 4 doors?
Do you want to drive something that not everyone and his mother are driving?
Do you really want to DRIVE, as in performance is the key here?
Are you a poser that wants everybody to look at you when you drive by?
Is the whole FWD/RWD/AWD/4WD that important, or does it again come down to handling?
I know that the original post stated the answers to some of these questions - but the post-test-drive posts seemed to be a little confused as to the primary function of this vehicle. So my suggestion (and I don't think I've seen it yet) is.....
buy two!
Do you love to drive? As in love to hit the onramp just right or find your favorite bit of twisty road or challenge yourself to see if you can go just a little bit faster? Well, the highway ain't the best place for any of that. The track is. So's the autocross course.
So ya got all this money to spend and your car's important? Buy yourself a Porsche, join the PCA, get out there with an instructor and learn to drive a fast car fast. Learn how to work on it a bit to save yourself some money - but more importantly, to have a respect for the car that you just can't get by dropping it off at the dealer and picking it up the next day. Learn to maintain your car, not wait 'til it breaks and repair it.
I've had three. My first, an '88 911 Carrera Targa, was my dream car of dream cars since I was a little kid. I bought it in '96 for about 25K. Drove it for 4 years and sold it for 22K - how's that for an investment? Did autocross, track, rally, concours, the whole shebang. Awesome experience. Somewhere along the way, I became worried about doing track events with it, so I bought a '73 914 for 2K with the idea of fixing it up for track and autocross. I was well on the way when I moved and lost the parking room for it, so I sold it for about 2K (putting about 3K of work into it along the way...). Different kind of fun than the 911. More fun in some ways, actually - the mid engine thing is just awesome on twisties. Then, I needed a little more creature comforts as my commute became longer, so I bought an '89 944 S2 with real live air conditioning! You drive to the track in total comfort, switch to your track tire/wheel combo, drive the heck out of it for a weekend, and then put the cruise control and AC and 6 disc changer on for the leisurely ride home. If you were brave enough to stand on the loud pedal in 2nd gear to redline, you either smiled or were dead - there just weren't any other options. The 944 Turbo is supposed to be twice the car as the S2. I can't imagine what that would be like.
So, you've got all this money. If you really, really want to learn about performance, then do it somewhere safe. (I'm sure other car clubs offer all the same stuff as the PCA - I only know of what I speak. Write. Whatever.) Buy a car to get you to work. Buy a car to indulge your driving fantasy. You'll spend the same money, but you'll be buying a hobby, too. Look around - again, I only know about P-cars - but you can find a Porsche for pretty much ANY amount of money.
Now, let's answer those questions with some cars:
4 doors? Hmm. A used Cayenne? Nah, here, you'd probably need to go BMW or Audi.
Unique? Take your pick. How 'bout a 928? A 968 cabriolet? A heavily modified 914 with a Corvette engine (not my cup of tea, but you can search Porschev and see some of the FrankenPorsches out there).
Performance drives? Any 911 Turbo - but you'd better get some lessons, first. A Boxster S - trust me, the car will be better than you are for quite some time.
Want people to look at you? Slant nose 911. Anything with that huge wing out back. A 914-6. A 356. A 356 speedster. A 911 speedster.
No Porsche has ever had FWD; lots have 4WD/AWD. In fact, my 944S2 with snow tires was a pretty darn good winter car - unless the snow got deeper than about 6 inches....in which case, it's time to call in one of your many SUV-drivin' buddies.....
So, anyway, if you want new, than you can ignore all of this. But if you're buying a great car for the sheer driving experience, well then...
there really is no substitute.
Go drive something great! Isn't that the whole point?
MFK
musicalmcs8706 said:
i picked up my current car off eBay, of all places. it cost me under £2000, weighs in at 355bhp (exactly the same power as a porsche 911 carrera 4s), and spanks the panties off most other cars (around 4.5 secs 0-60, tops out over 180mph). ok it's like 9 years old, but it's in perfect condition, has less than 100,000 miles on the clock, and it's gone 2 1/2 years since i bought it with not one single problem (apart from me melting a brake disc).
Everyone has different experiences with different cars. For me, German made cars have been a nightmare. They have had a lot of maintance problems and are always at the shop. Japanese and American made cars have been a dream to me. So while it is known that German cars have been decreasing in reliability, they may have turned that around. I am still unsure about them considering my history with them. For that I would say get the G35 coupe. Sporty and luxury, is always a nice combo. I do not like the "bulky" look of the ES.
With that being said, it is once again one opinion. I would 90% of the time choose a Japanese made car. So what you need to do, is go test drive the ES and G again, just those two and consider what you need for your own. People can give you an opinion and some make another suggestion after you already narrowed it down. So do another test drive and think about what YOU need.
With that being said, it is once again one opinion. I would 90% of the time choose a Japanese made car. So what you need to do, is go test drive the ES and G again, just those two and consider what you need for your own. People can give you an opinion and some make another suggestion after you already narrowed it down. So do another test drive and think about what YOU need.
I'm partial to the Jaguar S-Type R. Beautiful front and back ends, curves in all the right places and fast. Everything you need in a woman and a car.